This invention relates to strippable coatings, and methods for applying and for removing a coating.
Radiation curable (e.g., UV curable) coating compositions typically provide a desirable combination of properties including rapid cure, low or no solvent content, high gloss and good durability. Due to these properties and their generally good scratch and detergent resistance, UV curable coating compositions have been used as floor finishes. UV curable urethanes have been factory-applied to solid wood flooring to provide a pre-finished flooring material, and have been jobsite-applied to installed flooring materials to provide a substantially continuously-coated floor.
When radiation cured floor coatings become dulled, they can sometimes be restored to an acceptable appearance by applying one or more additional coats (usually referred to as xe2x80x9cmaintenancexe2x80x9d coats) of radiation curable floor coating. Eventually even application of a maintenance coat will not restore an adequate appearance, and the entire floor finish will need to be removed and renewed. Unfortunately, current commercially available radiation cured floor coatings are very difficult to remove using chemical strippers. Instead, more aggressive removal techniques such as floor sanding may be employed, thereby leading to removal of a portion of the underlying floor surface and creating dust issues at the jobsite. This has discouraged the use of radiation cured floor coatings.
The present invention provides, in one aspect, a radiation curable coating comprising an agent that imparts greater strippability to the cured coating. The agent can be included in a first coat of radiation curable coating atop a substrate, or in one or more subsequently applied maintenance coats, or in both the first coat and one or more maintenance coats. The agent not only facilitates the eventual removal of the cured coating using a chemical stripper, but also can enhance adhesion of the maintenance coat to a previously applied coating.
The present invention also provides strippable radiation curable coating kits for jobsite application to flooring and other substrates, and methods for applying radiation curable coatings to flooring and other substrates.
The radiation curable coatings of the present invention can be maintained using repeated application of radiation curable maintenance coats, but can be stripped without damaging the underlying substrate.